Twitter is popular for the immediacy it provides. It’s known as a “primary micro blogging tool” (McCool 1). An increasing amount of people rely on the concept of twitter as a form of fast and fresh information. On top of the notion that twitter is a recent phenomenon as a means of popular social media, it reveals how the younger and economically active generation rely on the twitter as a method of education and information seeking.
Tichenor, Donohue and Olien argue that the resulting knowledge gap closes “depending partly on whether the stimulus intensity of mass media is maintained at a high level.” (n. pag.). This concept indicates how twitter retains a large user base which re-enforces its power and influence. Readers play a key role in the functioning of this social media. The stimulus here enables readers to pick up 140 characters worth of information “However, the public ultimately takes interest in the stories themselves and not so much in the original source tweets or the individual Twitterer responsible for breaking the story” (Dhiraj 786), thus we as readers are asked to actively engage in the material we read, in order to make it significant.
Most of its impact and power is derived from the way twitter emerged as one of the first forms of social media to introduce a rewarding system (a system that creates positive feedback, encouraging its users to spend more time on their website). Broadly speaking, the majority of the world relies on mass communication to entertain us on a daily basis. By acquiring a certain number of retweets or replies, the user profits from a certain satisfaction. This demonstrates that “An economy works by motivating and rewarding participants with intrinsic rewards, and not lucrative compensation.” (McGonigal 54). Therefore, positive re-enforcement to use the website comes into effect, as positive emotions result in higher participation. Conversely, it implies that readers will only take interest in certain topics depending on the response that they receive from other readers, “If perceived as relevant, these technologies must be employed in meaningful ways…If information is accessible, we choose whether to actually access, capture or retrieve it” (Bucy 276).
In the past 5 years, large corporations, companies and politicians have latched onto this concept and reaped the benefits of reaching out to larger audiences through Twitter. For example, during the period of the 2008 elections, Barack Obama used Twitter in tandem with other social media tools to reach out to a technology savvy population. Obama’s use of twitter was essentially guided one factor. It drove his campaign: “a preset schedule of presidential election milestones, from pre-primary campaigning to primary elections” (Hendricks and Robert 41). Another factor affecting Obama’s twitter strategy was the evolution that occurred as the campaign “matured in its understanding of the strengths and potentiality of Twitter and the uses of social media” (Hendricks and Robert 41). This relates back to the argument that a large audience is interested in quick and fast information that supports our decision making in many aspects of our lives.
Consequently, the 21st century has adapted its education system to suit the ideals of our younger generation. Professionals in the education system recognise reading as something that can also be interactive. In the book ‘Social Readers’, a clear reference is made: “This generation needs, and even thrives on social interaction, therefore reading needs to become social too” (Preddy, 9). To substantiate this point further, we see that readers are headed towards a digitalised age, where reading is predominantly done through the internet, and the need for libraries is no longer as significant as it once was.
Since a powerful aspect of Twitter is an appeal to the gratification that is accomplished by its immediacy in delivery; interactive readers gain information that is extremely fresh at a pressing speed. This thought suggests that we are a part of a convergence culture which represents a cultural shift from older ideas about “passive media spectatorship” (McCool 28), for educators and students who are now (as media consumers) “encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content” (Jenkins 3).
From a reader’s perspective, users of social media benefit from using twitter to gain knowledge about current affairs and use the power of a media outlet accordingly: “Through Twitter people throughout the world are not only listening but responding” (Dhiraj 786).
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Bibliography:
Bucy, E. P., Newhagen, John E. Media Access: Social and Psychological Dimensions of New Technology Use. Mahwah, N.J: L. Erlbaum, 2004. Print
Dhiraj, Murthy. “Twitter: Microphone for the masses?” Media, Culture & Society 33.5 (2011) 780-789. Web 2 March 2012
Hendricks, John Allen.,and Robert E. Denton. Communicator-in-chief: How Barack Obama Used New Media Technology to Win the White House. Lanham: Lexington, 2010. Print.
Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.
McCool, Lynn Beth. “The Pedagogical use of Twitter in the University Classroom.” Iowa State University, 2011. United States — Iowa: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT). Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
McFedries, Paul. Twitter: Tips, Tricks, and Tweets. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley, 2009. Print.
McGonigal, Jane. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.
Smith, Jon, Llinares, José. Dominate Your Market with Twitter: Tweet Your Way to Business Success. Oxford: Infinite Ideas, 2009. Print.
Tichenor , P. J., Donohue, G. A., and Olien , C. N. Mass media and differential growth in knowledge. Public Opinion Quarterly (1970). Oxford Journals. n. pag. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.
Preddy, Leslie. Social Readers: Promoting Reading in the 21st Century. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2010. Print.